Cloth-cleaner for sieves.



PATENTED SEPT. 27, 1904.

W. BONIFIELD.

CLOTH CLEANER FOR SIEVES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

INVENTOR.

WITNEEEEE:

AUNHED STATES Patented September 27, 1904.

WILLIAM BONIFIELD, OF-TOLEDO, OHIO.

CLOTH-CLEANER FOR SIEVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 770,734, dated September 27, 1904.

Application filed March 22, 1904. Serial No. 199,450. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BONIFIELD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cloth-Cleaners for Sieves; and 1 do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in cleaning devices for use on screens or sieves having a rotary, gyratory, or reciprocatory motion for the purpose of disintegrating or separating matter fed thereon, and is especially adapted for use on cloth sieves or screens employed in flour or grist mills.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and effective cleaner of this class that is adapted to be operatively actuated by the motion of the sieve in which it is placed and that is so constructed as to provide resilient frame-striking parts, thereby reducing to a minimum the wear occasioned by the constant striking of the cleaner against the sieve-frame when in motion.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device adapted to have a portion thereof in constantly-changing contact with the under surface of the sieve-cloth for the purpose of preventing the filling up and clogging of the meshes incident to the nature of their use.

The invention is fully described in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sieve, showing my cleaner in operative position therein. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the cleaner. Fig. 3 is a section thereof, taken on the dotted line 00 w in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the frame of an ordinary rectangular sieve; B, the separating medium; 0, the bottom, and D a series of pins disposed in the discharge-opening thereof, adapted to retain the cleaner E within'the sieve.

The cleaner E is shown as comprising the two alining loops at Z), which are secured together in tangential position and substantially in the shape of a figure 8. A pivotal support or bearing-lug c is riveted or otherwise suitably secured to the under side of the cleaner at the meeting-point of the loops a b and is adapted to act as a pivot on which said cleaner oscillates as it is thrown about within the sieve, the loop a being normally held in contact with the under surface of the cloth B by reason of the loop 5 being made slightly larger than the loop a, as shown, to enable the lug c to be offset from the center and at the same time be disposed at the point of connection of said loops. The depth of the lug 0 depends upon the space intervening between the bottom C and cloth B of the sieve, it being necessary in the proper operation of my cleaner that the same should be sufficiently tilted to enable the lower outer edge of the loop 6 to rest on the bottom of the sieve and the upper outer edge of the loop a to have a yielding contact with the under surface of the cloth or separating medium, the said upper edge being rounded, as shown at cl, to form a smooth surface for engagement with the cloth. If desired, a series of tufts of bristles a may be secured in the upper surface of the loop a for engagement with the cloth-surface instead of the edge d of the cleaner, it having been found that the cleaner works equally well with either method.

The loops (4 b are made from any suitable hard resilient material to adapt the cleaner to rebound as it strikes the sides of the frame and also to prevent the frame from being splintered and battered by reason of the constant striking of the cleaner thereon as it gyrates within the sieve.

i/Vhile it is apparent that the loops a and b may be form ed and secured together in numerous ways, I have shown a convenient method of doing the same, which consists in the use of two thicknesses of belt-leather cut in the desired width and firmly glued together. The outer thickness of each loop is extended at one end beyond the inner thickness and continued in the opposite direction a portion of the way around the other loop, as shown at f in Fig. 2, the said ends being riveted or otherwise suitably secured thereto.

It will thus be seen from the above descrip tion that the cleaner rests loosely on the bottom of the sieve with one end elevated a sufficient height to bring it in contact with the sieve-cloth. As motion is imparted to the machine in which the sieve is mounted the cleaner is caused to have a gyratory movement Within the sieve, striking first against one side of the frame and then another. This motion brings the cleaner into frictional contact with a constantly-changing portion of the under surface of the cloth and also vibrates the cloth as the cleaner oscillates on its pivot, thereby removing all suspended matter and keeping the meshes open.

If the distance between the bottom 0 and cloth B is too great to operatively accommodate a cleaner of convenient or ordinary size, a false wire-screen bottom may be secured therein to support the cleaner in proper position.

It is obvious that, if desired, a greater number of loops than two may be placed around the lug c and that such changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction of the parts as fairly fall within the scope of my invention may be made Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Havingthus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A cloth-cleaner comprising a plurality of circular loops formed of a material resilient in its nature to adapt the cleaner to rebound as a loop strikes the frame of a sieve and of suliicient stiffness to retain its original shape, the said loops being rigidly secured about a common point, substantially as described.

2. Acloth-cleaner,comprising a plurality of circular loops formed of stiff resilient material to adapt the cleaner to rebound as a loop strikes the frame of a sieve, the said loops being arranged in abutting positions and rigidly secured together, and a knob secured to the under side of the cleaner adjacent to the point of connection of said loops and positioned to cause the outer edge of one loop to be normally held in elevated position for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification'in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM BONIFIELD.

Witnesses:

CORNELL SOHREIBER, C. WV. OWEN. 

